The Head Wine-server’s and Head Baker’s Dreams

40:1-23

40 Sometime after that, the head wine-server and the head baker disobeyed their master, who was Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 2 As a result, King Pharaoh was furious with those two officers. 3 So he had his soldiers arrest them and put them in prison at the captain over the guards’ house, in the same prison where Joseph was. 4 There the captain over the guards appointed Joseph to take care of them, so he served them, and they remained in prison for some time.

5 One night the king of Egypt’s wine server and baker each had a dream while they were in prison. Each one’s dream had its own meaning. 6 The next morning, when Joseph came to serve them, he noticed that they looked sad. 7 So he asked them, “Why do you look so unhappy today?” 8 They answered him, “We each had a dream last night, but there is no one here who can tell us what our dreams mean.” Joseph replied, “God is the only one who gives someone the ability to interpret the meaning of dreams. Please tell me what you dreamed.”

9 Then the head wine-server told Joseph what was in his dream. He said, “While I was dreaming, I saw a vine in front of me 10 that had three branches. Soon buds started forming on the branches. Then the buds became flowers, and the flowers became bunches of ripe grapes. 11 Next I was holding King Pharaoh’s cup, and I picked grapes from the vine and squeezed juice from them into the cup. Then I handed the cup to Pharaoh and he drank from it.”

12 Joseph said to him, “This is what your dream means: The three branches represent three days. 13 In three days King Pharaoh will summon you and give you back your job, so that you will again serve wine to him, as you used to do when you were his wine-server. 14 When you are out of prison and everything is going well for you, please remember that I was here with you, and please be kind to me and mention my situation to King Pharaoh so that he releases me from this prison. 15 People brought me here by force from the land where my people, the Hebrews, live. Even here in Egypt I have done nothing wrong to deserve being in a dungeon.”

16 When the head baker heard the positive meaning that Joseph gave for the first dream, he told him, “I also had a dream, and while I was dreaming, I saw three bread baskets stacked on my head. 17 In the top basket there were many kinds of bread and cakes for King Pharaoh to eat, but some birds were gobbling them up from the basket.”

18 Joseph said to him, “This is what your dream means: The three baskets represent three days. 19 In three days King Pharaoh will have his soldiers chop off your head and impale your body on a sharp pole, where vultures will eat all your flesh off your bones.”

20 Then sure enough, three days later it was King Pharaoh’s birthday, and he invited all his officers to attend a banquet. During the banquet, he had soldiers bring his head wine-server and head baker to the banquet in front of all his other officers. 21 Then he returned the head wine-server to his former work, so that he again served wine to him. 22 But he had his soldiers execute the head baker and impale his body on a pole. Everything happened exactly the way Joseph had explained their dreams to them.

23 However the head wine-server completely forgot about Joseph and did not remember to tell Pharaoh about him.